Purification Buddhist Movement, 1954-1970: The Struggle to Restore Celibacy in the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism - Tapa blanda

The celibate monastic group of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the biggest and dominant order of Korean Buddhism officially established in 1941, developed the Purification Buddhist Movement, 1954-1970 with the strong support of two rulers, President I Seungman (1875-1965) and President Bak Jeonghui (1917-1979). It successfully removed from the order married monasticism and non-vegetarianism Japanized during the colonial period, 1910-1945. The movement began from the first presidential message of President I Seungman in 1954 and concluded with the government’s official approval for married monks to separate from the ecumenical Jogye Order consisting of married and unmarried monks. With this secession, the Jogye Order became sectarian for celibate monks, while married monks established their own sectarian Taego Order of Korean Buddhism in 1970 during the regime of President Bak Jeonghui.

Chanju Mun (Ordination Name: Seongwon) is the founder and chief editor of Blue Pine Books. He taught East Asian Buddhist Studies at the University of the West in Los Angeles between Summer 2004 and Spring 2007 and is currently teaching Buddhist philosophy at the University of Hawaii – Manoa beginning Fall 2007. He received a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2002 and a Master's Degree in Philosophy from Seoul National University in 1991. He has been a researcher at exiled Tibetan Drepung Monastic University in South India and at the University of Tokyo.He recently published numerous articles on modern Korean Buddhism and two research books including The History of Doctrinal Classification in Chinese Buddhism: A Study of the Panjiao Systems and edited five serial volumes on Buddhism and peace. He is currently planning to edit some more volumes in the series and to write several books on modern Korean Buddhism in the near future.